Inlaying Dots (small circles)

RhoTu

Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2013
Messages
11
Location
Hudson, WI
Noob here asking for information/techniques for inlaying small dots/circles. There are plenty of videos on inlaying sheet and wire but I haven't been able to find anything on this process. Joanne Ryall(sp) uses it often in her designs and I like the effect.
I have a rotary tool. Thanks for any help/guidance.
RT
 

DanM

Elite Cafe Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2006
Messages
203
Location
Minnesota

Dani Girl

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
May 6, 2012
Messages
1,110
Location
NSW, Australia.
well, doesn't Barry Lee hands use rotary tools to inlay gold into mother of pearl? if you can use like a inverted cone bur vertically to undercut using a vertical tool holding depth guage kind of setup like a plunge router, you could probably do something.
 

rweigel

Elite Cafe Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2017
Messages
203
Location
France (north of Alsace, close to Germany)
If you want better control with rotary tools (burrs), and have to remove only a little material, rotate the burr backwards. I took this tip from a stonesetter‘s post at Ganoksin. It works well for Silver and Gold. I never tried it in steel. The backward rotation prevents the teeth of the burr from digging into the metal, which often leads to runaway tools or diffculties to steer it in the direction you wanted. The burr still removes metal, just slower and more even.

I equipped my flexible shafts with a reversal switch, that allows me to run burrs backwards. Never try it with a stonesetter‘s hammer, by the way…

Cheers

Ralf
 

Sponsors

Top